NHS Appointments (Hansard, 26 April 2001)

§ Mr. Brady
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the occasions on which(a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have met the Commissioner for Public Appointments in the last year to discuss her recommendations for the reform of appointments to NHS trusts, primary care trusts and health authorities. [159011]

§ Ms Stuart
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State did not meet the Commissioner for Public Appointments in the course of the last year. I met the commissioner on 29 November 2000 specifically to discuss her recommendations on appointments to National Health Service boards. Officials met the commissioner on numerous occasions during the year in the course of which her recommendations were discussed.

§ Mr. Brady
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what undertakings he has given to the Commissioner for Public Appointments regarding appointments to NHS trusts, primary care trusts and health authorities. [159015]
333W

§ Ms Stuart
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State informed the Commissioner for Public Appointments in July 2000 of his intention to establish an independent appointments commission with responsibility for all non-executive appointments to National Health Service boards. The National Health Service Appointments Commission was established on 1 April 2001 under the chairmanship of Sir William Wells, and will begin to make appointments shortly.

§ Mr. Brady
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the occasions in the last year on which hon. Members have made representations on particular appointments to(a) NHS trusts, (b) primary care trusts and (c) health authorities, giving in each case the date the representation was received, the name of the hon. Member and the name of the candidate. [159016]

§ Ms Stuart
Until last year the practice followed by the Government and under the previous Administration was that hon. Members were automatically consulted by the regional chair on all non-executive appointments to National Health Service boards before recommendations were made to Ministers. In response to the recommendations contained in the report of the Commissioner for Public Appointments on appointments to National Health Service boards, the practice of consulting hon. Members was discontinued in September 2001.